


Immortal Husk

by Naveri



Category: Purple Hyacinth - Ephemerys & Sophism (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Anyone who litters will die, Bella is a babe in this, Blood and Gore, Childhood Friends, College, Crack, Curses, Death Predictions, Evans dies first, F/M, Ghost Possessing, High School, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, I'm so sorry, Kym is hard core crushing on Will, Modern AU, More improv, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Panic!inthegrave, Parallels, Phobias, Romance, Shenanigan's, Soft Lula, Symbolism, There is no shock value, drunk games, fears, lots of triggers, no one is safe, not safe for the faint of heart, spoopy, we know what’s coming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29653851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naveri/pseuds/Naveri
Summary: High School Senior and aspiring top student, Lauren Sinclair always had secrets beneath her perfect rich girl façade. But even she dips low, when the detestable Evans strikes a deal with her, and she accepts. She was sure it would be worth it. If it meant answers to all her questions since the loss of her middle school friend, Dylan Rosenthal.What she never bargained for was the selling of her soul to a game she never planned to play, and before she knows it, more than just Dylan has begun to fall to the grips of the reaper. With school ending, and summer on the horizon, being apart in times of risk only lead them closer to the precipice of death. Herself included.
Relationships: Lauren Sinclair/Kieran White, Lila Desroses/Lukas "Grumpy Cat" Randall, William Hawkes/Kym Ladell
Comments: 29
Kudos: 37





	1. Immortal Husk

**Author's Note:**

> **Notes:** This is a Modern AU. Meaning, technology, high school, and unsolicited nude photos from dickheads like Evans. 
> 
> It’s more fun to play with the idea of the PH Cast being silly dumb teenager's playing a game and dealing with the consequences. It not only brings out their original characters to make it less OOC, but it also brings forth the things we are so familiar with in our canon cast, like killing. 
> 
> Bella and Kieran are out of high school, Will, Lauren and Kym are seniors. Lauren also has her lie ability, everything is still mostly the same, they’re just younger and Kieran isn’t the PH. Obviously. Yet. JK. For the sake of it everyone is legal in this fic, and Lauren and Kym did skip grades to graduate with Will, because they’re smart and amazing. 
> 
> **For the sake of their safety, Lula will not be included in this fic. Their lives are safe. Everyone else is fair game, you have been warned. Everyone and anyone else can, MAY OR WILL DIE.**
> 
> **Information on the Game:** This is a story involving the concept of a game called Light as a feather, stiff as a board. It is played by a group of people. In this rendered and more gruesome edition, five people are in a circle and one by one each person lays in the middle to be told how they will die. The Leader, the person chosen for the job to foretell these deaths will do so for each of them. The Leader is the only person who will not be told their death, since it is not possible. 
> 
> A silly game however, is all that it was ever meant to be. 
> 
> The idea came forth over a TV Series I watched called Light as a Feather. I’ll be taking a lot of inspirations from the series that you don’t need to know about, and I’m going to completely change the concept of the game’s more….fantastical themes and change it into something less gross from the TV Series, and make it more...sentintent. If I’m not making any sense, it’s okay. You’ll understand soon enough!

**Immortal Husk**

**May XX22**

There was a time when Lauren had remembered a story from her mother. An encouraging tale, a story for wisdom when it came to the way of the feminine wiles. Lauren remembers her mother’s tone. How it grew deeper as the story progressed, and the lesson learned that one must understand a snake’s perception. Perception to encompass its surroundings. The direct eye of the world around itself. A snake who feeds, consumes without return, and sheds the skins of their past. And though it may be hard to tell if one is venomous, it would be better to assume that they are all holding poison within their veins. Ready to strike. Ready to eat the fear of their victims and devour their souls. 

~~~

The faint nightmare of falling into a pit of snakes and dying vanishes back into the back of her memory. It rattled her. Lauren chuckles over her own pun as the ring of the school bell sent her back to reality, her feet slowly sliding down the soon dissipating crowded hallways of the high school she was tired of attending. It was her last year, and her last month. The red-head fell into a run and sprinted to her class, heaving the one too many books up three flights of stairs. Her normal hop of skipping two steps faltered by the second flight, the weight of the books in her arms tipping her backward until her feet slipped up. She goes falling to her doom upon the solid floor, but the impact never comes and her eyes loosen their tight hold as they open. Two strong arms catch her from behind, but they’re slender and smooth, the pale milky skin unfamiliar to her. With a bolt upward and out of the woman’s arms, Lauren twists, books still cradled in her arms as she falls back against the stairwell railing. Red eyes pierce through her heart, the very concept of moving suddenly too difficult to achieve. 

A beautiful young woman with glorious bouncy pink locks stands there, arms crossed and dolled up in dark green striped pants and a white blouse with a V that dipped exceedingly low for school. Sparkling diamonds hang from her ears and the subtle dark red lipstick gives her a maturity that any woman would strive to have. She looked like she could be a teacher, but still too young to be anything permanent. Lauren eyed her suspiciously and then she gasped, the rudeness coming to the forefront. 

“I am so sorry. Thank you so much for catching me, you just...caught me off guard that’s all.”

“You seemed like you were in a rush. It’s alright,” she smirks, the lovely tone of her velvet voice smoothing out the worries in Lauren’s mind. The click of the stranger’s heels as she passes by on the stairs sends her into a calming state, the very presence of this pink-haired enigma too much to bear. The woman is already waving her off before she gets the chance to say another word, and then reality sets in once more, her eyes shooting to her watch. Lauren flies into a panic again, blitzing to her next classroom and already cringing at the lecture surely coming her way. 

  
  


“You are LATE AGAIN, SINCLAIR!” A parched, angry and deep tone had backs straightening and phones tucked away. He yelled so loud the entire hallway could hear the booming voice of Mr. Hermann, the most boring and dreadful History teacher known to Ardhalis. Lauren apologized quietly, cowering to her desk in the corner next to Kym and opening up the necessary pages of her book. Hermann grunted at the simple response, slamming the classroom door and heading back to the projector. 

“As I was saying…”

The mumbles of his boring lecture fell into the background, Kym stabbing Lauren relentlessly with a pencil. 

"Pspspspsp." 

Lauren sighed, hanging back and placing the book up slightly to cover her face.

"What?" she sighs to her best friend. 

Kym stopped her infuriating poking, scribbling down a stick figure and then stabbing the paper with her pencil, effectively destroying said stick figure. 

"What's this about you going on a date with Evans tonight? Didn’t even bother to tell me, hmm?"

Lauren’s eye catches Hermann for a moment, smiling innocently and looks down to put on the act of writing notes. She whispers to Kym, “It’s not a date. He’s introducing me to someone.”

Kym’s spit gets all over her paper as she continues to probe the topic, “Oh come on, don’t lie to me. I don’t need that ability of yours to know your bullshit. You made a deal with him.”

“It was a simple trade of spending the night with him for some very _valuable_ information.” 

“I can’t believe you’re doing this. With Evans,” Kym gasps.

Lauren shuts her book softly, placing it down on the edge of her desk and scribbling more nonsense onto the paper. “I’m not going to have sex with him, god. What the hell, Kym.”

“I’m--you said spend the night!”

“Yeah, like hanging out. Make him think it’s a date, it’s just one night.”

“He’s going to try and pull a fast one on you, I’m coming with.”

The halt of the pencil makes it snap and Lauren groans. “Kym. You’re only going to make this weird.” 

“Just ask him!”

Lauren sighed, carefully taking out her phone as Hermann rambled on. 

**“Kym wants to come with me tonight, she’s persistent.”**

**“Okay. Sounds great ;).”**

Lauren’s brows furrowed, tucking her phone into her pocket. 

“What’s wrong? Did he say no?”

“No. He said yes.”

“That’s great!” Kym cheered, standing up and completely halting the lecture. 

“DETENTION. BOTH OF YOU! OUT OF MY CLASSROOM, NOW!!!!” Hermann screamed at the top of his lungs, pointing toward the door and the yardstick previously in said hand went flying, spinning in the air and whacking the wall before snapping into two pieces and falling to the floor. Lauren and Kym grabbed their things, quickly leaving the room before they ended up smacked with yardsticks.

“Why do you look so sad that I just saved you from a terrible one on one date with EVANS.” Kym’s hands slid against the row of lockers as she flew down the hallway. She turned to wait up for her friend, who still stared at the floor with an all too common pensive look.

“It’s not that. It’s that he said yes. He knows he’d never be able to score us in bed together. That is what is so odd, Kym. If he’s as smart as we give him credit to be then why would he say yes? I don’t trust him. And besides, the person we are meeting is already third wheel enough, now we’re just making it a group.” 

Kym fell back into step with her best friend, palms flat, fingers locked on the back of her head as she swung her elbows around in the air. “Whatever the reason, I have never been more thankful. We are going to get all the information you need and more!”

“Hey, that’s why you really wanted to come along isn’t it!”

“I know you’re still looking into Dylan’s death.”

Lauren stopped in the middle of the hallway, staring out at the window that hosted the clear blue skies and a bright beautiful day that her friend deserved to see. “He’s not dead. They never found the body.”

“Lauren…”

Pushing past Kym, she beelined for the stairs. "Just...don’t bother coming if you’re not going to be on my side about this. I already lost Will. I can’t lose you too.” Kym caught up, grabbing her hand and squeezing it with reassurance. Once Kym latched herself onto you, it was better not to fight it.

“I’m never leaving your side. Will is just caught up in his stupid AP classes and extracurricular activities and all his sports...and student council meetings and fundraisers and…his dad on his back about top colleges...” Kym mumbled off staring at her feet.

“Wow...he really does run the school doesn’t he?” Kym chuckled to herself.

Patting her head, Lauren tucked her arm tighter around Kym’s. “Pretty much. You really think Principle Arthingham is capable of doing all of this?”

“No, she’s hardly in her office. What’s creepy is that every time I turn a corner, she just so happens to be there. More so sobbing over the fact that Co-Principle Alfred Butler Arthingham isn’t around because he’s actually running around doing tasks and errands with the students.” 

They both laugh this time, and Lauren admits, “And you wonder why I want to get out of this shithole. And Hermann is on my last nerve, I have top scores in his class and he still treats me like I’m some degenerate.”

Kym chuckled, their way to detention closing in. “I barely get my work in on time and yet still achieve the top scores.”

“And why is that? You were failing at the beginning of the year.”

“Okay, don’t beat me up. I got Lila to do my homework.” 

“Kym!”

“I paid her really well, and she was able to give something to Lukas for his birthday. So, it helped. I wanted to help them, they are so sweet and adorable together, Lauren. You know how I get about those two. They are destined for one another.” 

They loosen their arms as they come in closer to their destination. Her hand squeezes the small arm of her best friend, Kym who is so bright and thoughtful, only ever thought about the happiness of others. “Think about yourself for once.”

“What?” The dark haired girl quirks her head.

Lauren can only mumble, walking away from the lost cause and dragging her feet into the hell she’d accompany for the next few hours. “Dense. So incredibly dense.”

~~~

They’d barely made it on time to meet Evans, the sun low in the sky as they got out of detention and back home to change clothes. It was a nice spring day, but at night the wind brought the chill to a crisp. Wherever they were meeting, it was on the poor side of town near Greychapel, an old rundown church no longer in use after the war, when poverty became prevalent and the praying less so. Or rather, the up keep to continue such a faith. The sadness grew as she saw its peak come closer into view. The clouds hung low and the darkness loomed above, the moon hidden away behind the storm that may come tonight to bring the flourishing of hope and the growth of flowers of tomorrow. Kym wobbled beside her, shivering from the wind and drinking away at the flask she brought.

“How much left you got? We should finish it before we meet with Evans,” asks Lauren, who’s trying to fight the shivers of the cold coming in from the distant waves of the ocean. 

“Yeah, not much. Here, you should have some more, I’ve had my fair share.” Kym handed her the flask, and she muttered a thanks. The two of them agreed there was no way in hell they were going to be sober meeting up with Evans. Especially, if he thought he was going to get a threesome. 

They quickly topped off the whiskey, the only alcohol Kym’s father had, who never noticed the bottle slowly being emptied over time. Lauren’s eye caught Evan’s figure on the outside stairs and they quickly met up with him to head inside.

“Great choice on the location by the way, idiot!” Kym shouted out, the squawk of crows perched on a chandelier above them flying off from the sudden noise. Lauren sighed, rolling her eyes at Kym’s taunt.

“Shut up, Ladell. You’re lucky you were needed,” Evans spat back, growling in frustration and stomping toward two other figures standing in the distance. The figure to the left was someone Lauren was recently familiar with. 

_The pink haired woman from before._ Lauren begged the question, their eyes meeting and her feet almost coming to a full stop at the bright but deep dark reds piercing into her heart like before, those eyes full of knowing. As if she had already been sure who she was meeting. 

Lauren’s heart froze solid at the sight of the other figure beside the woman. Someone she hadn’t seen since the _incident._ She was surprised, to say the least, how much he had grown. He was never on social media, or anywhere on the internet that she knew of, and she never bothered to keep up with him, or rather ever cared to be bothered at the thought of his face or the simplicity of his name. But then a tinge of envy came through as she admired his sculpted jawline, and straight nose. 

The familiar small curls of black hair fell lower than she remembered, now in a low ponytail, but many strands still delicately danced low over his tanned face. He looked good, despite her grudge blooming to the surface and curling up the anger so that she could one day punt it at him. The closer she got, the more she realized how well he filled out the black button up clinging to his form. How much taller he had gotten, how much brighter his eyes had managed to become. How the sweet smile of a child turned into one of a deviant. _All rumors of course._

Kym was lucky enough never to know him, but Kym’s voice had everyone's attention the moment she pointed a finger at the man Lauren was just admiring a little too much.

“COUSIN.”

“COUSIN!” He yelled back, pointing in their direction.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!” Kym screeched. 

"NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" 

“I’M ASKING YOU THAT RIGHT NOW, YOU FIRST,” Kym belted.

“YOU FIRST, LADELL,” the dark haired man yelled back. 

“KIERAN WHITE, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SHADY ASS PLACE AND WHY DO YOU KNOW EVANS, YOU DON’T EVEN GO TO OUR SCHOOL!”

“Who the fuck is Evans!?” he asked in all seriousness.

Kieran and Kym started to bicker, the awkward tension in the air all but dispersed as the pink-haired woman clapped her hands and giggled. “Oh well, isn’t this fun. We mostly all know one another then! Haha! Delightful!” She beamed, clearing her throat and laying down a large blanket she had off to the side on a chair. 

  
  


“Great,” Lauren growled, still pinning her stare on Kieran. _Cousin? Kieran is Kym’s cousin? How did I not know this? The hell is going on._ Lauren’s attention was diverted when the woman started lighting candles that she pulled from her bag, all but ignoring the bickering from the others.

“What are you doing?”

“No need for formalities. I know about your little deal with that idiot over there. I know you want information, and I know someone who may have it. However, I require time with friends and a little fun. I can smell the alcohol, so clearly you two wanted the same.” The woman stopped, lighting the last candle and standing, dusting off her striped pants and winking at Lauren. “The name is Bella, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I was in a bit of a rush like yourself.”

Lauren sighed in relief, “I’m glad that’s cleared up, we can cut out the middleman then. I’m Lauren Sinclair, but I have a feeling you already knew that.”

Eyeing her for a moment, Bella clicked her heel. “Yes, your trademark hair and eyes as well as being the niece of the Chief of Police has its way of making you very popular. You may not notice that in your little school, but many people in the real world are aware of those who stand in power for the future.” 

“Right. Look, I just want the information, I can pay you.”

“The deal is, you hang out, drink with me, play some games, and we can trade all the secrets you’d like after.” 

They agree, heading over to the blanket where the others have settled. Bella sits off at the top of the blanket on her own, as Kym decides to take a seat next to Evans as if she were doing her best friend a favor, when in fact, the very thought of sitting next to the man that now resides beside her has her wanting to punch his face into the wall. 

_You killed him._

_You monster._

_You killed him!_

_It’s all YOUR fault!!!_

Lauren blocked out the screams of her past, her own guilt riding on the precipice as she looked his way. Her pride was too high to apologize, but she knew he wasn’t actually at fault, if anything, just as much as a victim, the burn scars on his right arm proof of that. They don’t speak a word to one another, only simply acknowledging that they are both here and in a silent agreement not to ruin anyone's good time. Bella clapped her hands once more, the ping of her sparkling rings coming together. 

  
  


“None of you here know what we are doing, correct?”

They all nodded. She grinned, her lips curling. 

“Let me explain the rules of the game I like to call, Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board. Each of you will take a turn, laying down in the middle while the rest of us hold out two fingers beneath your body. I will look into your mind, see your fears, and know your end. I will bring you to peace, making you all the lighter, and once I have spoken the words and we have chanted the name of the game you will rise by the press of our measly fingers and levitate!” She cackled, throwing her arms up just as a flash of lightning spooked Kym. She waited for the sound of the thunder, but it never came. 

“Oh come on, Bella. That sounds so stupid,” Evans groaned, pitching another beer bottle into the corner of the church. Lauren grinded her teeth at the thought of him littering, ignoring the twitch on her eyebrow and listening to Bella continue after the rude interruption. 

“What? Are you scared to find out how you’ll die?” Bella taunted, cheeky smile and all. Evans stood up, instantly going to the middle and laying down as if he just declared war on the grim reaper himself. 

“Bring it on.” 

Bella was clearly entertained, her long sharp nails gliding to his temple and the rest of them falling into suit by holding two fingers beneath him. For a moment there was a silence, the howl of the wind through the broken windows of the church, and the flutter of wings overhead, those same crows now back and perched up on the chandelier. 

“Mason Evans. Prideful with an ego so large he only wishes his dick was the same size.”

Snickers were heard and Evans mumbled, “I didn’t know this was a roasting game, Davenport.” 

She flicked his temple, continuing her speech. “A star boy in the community. A son who would one day take over his family's company, if not for the dreadful day that would soon arrive. The terror striking in his veins and the horror of the end coming to mind. With shallow breaths and hands rubbed raw until they bled, Evans continued to hang tight to the rope that was his last tether to the living.”

Everyone held their breath at the story, the detail effortlessly escaping her lips. It spooked Lauren, a shiver crawling up her spine and as if by instinct alone, Kieran turned to her in worry. She didn’t look in return, her eyes averting away from Bella and back to her fingers waiting to lift Evans to his peace. 

“His last tether to life all but gone. Nothing mattered any longer. The idiotic rap songs, the countless arguments with his father and pointless texts to girls who never responded. He would come to realize no one was coming to save him on that stormy night, as the rain pelted and the lighting struck, the rope simmered into a blaze, severing his lifeline and sending him into a free fall into the deep dark depths of the ravine below.”

Bella stalls only for a moment, the others sucked into the enticing tale of hearing how an idiot like this might die in Bella’s mind. 

“There he lay, splattered on the ground for all to see. Broken bones, twisted neck. Organs lay out upon the shimmering rocks, and the once handsome face he was sure would give him everything in his world of living was now smashed to the hard earth itself. Almost unrecognizable if not for the foolish tattoo on his inner thigh.”

Evans was about to mumble something but Bella smacked his cheek lightly and continued. 

“Mason Evans had moments to witness the end of his life, but knew all the same he would not be buried as beautiful in the way in which he came. He looks worse the closer he falls, and the closer he falls, the more ill he becomes. He is dying. He is dying. He is dead. Light as a feather, stiff as a board.” 

The others repeated after Bella, their fingers lifting him slowly, and by Lauren’s logical sense, their combined strength should easily lift him, game or not. She rolled her eyes at the foolish nonsense, lifting him up. But her heart stopped as Evans lifted higher than her push. The others were just as perplexed, minus Bella who’s fingers still held tight to his temples.

“Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Light as a feather, stiff as a board. He is dying, he is dying. He is dead.” She muttered on, while the rest sat in awe watching Evans float in front of them. The last word called out as the loud thump of Evans' body hit the hard floor of the church.

“Ow! Don’t drop me next time.”

No one said a word, Lauren’s eyes catching Kym’s for a moment and the two of them sharing questions. _What was that? He actually levitated? What kind of magic trick is that?_

Evans got up and sat back down, too drunk to notice he actually floated. Bella smiled, completely neutral to the situation and motioning for Lauren to come next.

“Well, come on then. This is fun!”

She gulped, steadily crawling over to the middle and laying down. Her eyes blinked rapidly, Bella’s hands honing in over her temples. Lauren wiped her hands on the blanket, her palms pooling with sweat. Rapidly, her eyes met Kieran’s out of the oddness of her heart, as if saying she felt the most safe next to him. He looked concerned, but didn’t say another word. The first touch of his fingers beneath her arm and the gentle smile she remembered made her shiver.

“Are you ready?” Bella asks.

Lauren nodded apprehensively, turning to Kym next who gave her a drunken smile. Lauren couldn’t manage a smile back, something in her telling her to run, to escape before it was too late. She was more sober than she’d ever been and the pumping of her veins cried out to be let free, but it was too late as Bella’s fingers cooled against her temple and the simple words escaped the woman’s lips.

“Lauren Sinclair, a woman of stature, a friend made of loyalty, born into financial success and blessed with the brains to climb to the top. But like any other, she has fears, and those fears run deeper than missing class or a failing grade.”

Lauren had hoped these kinds of things really were known to all, the feel of her hands felt more than just a brush upon her temple, but a grip upon her soul and her deepest darkest secrets and fears, pulled out for all to see. 

“But Lauren Sinclair, fooled the world. For she was blind. The blindest of all. With desperate attempts and sleepless nights, her mind would go on racing, ignorant to the answers standing before her, and running in circles over questions she’d never resolve. And the day comes when she no longer gets the chance to move on, for she was never given another choice at all. Dark and alone, Lauren Sinclair would live the rest of her days trapped and confined in a space that would make her go mad. How she got herself into that situation, was something she'd never come to know. Her cries no longer heard. Her wails and her screams a distant memory to the wind. And when no one would come, the pain in her insides would twist and turn away at the last of her energy. It would drive her to desperation, to hopelessness and ultimately, _starvation.”_

Lauren’s whine isn’t audible, but her body produces it anyway, the terrified thought of being trapped or confined has the fire in her lighting up, but it was snuffed as Bella spoke her words and Lauren fell into a trance, closing her eyes to the sound and the lightness of her body lifting to the sky. 

“She is looking ill.”

“She is dying. She is dying.”

“She is dead.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea if this is any good or if anyone even wants horror, but there just isn't a lot on the PH fandom. SHOCKINGLY. Anyways! Feel free to throw in names of others you want to see play the game, or be involved. I have a few in mind, HAHAHAHAMWAHAHAHA ahem...
> 
> Uh HEY GO LEAVE SOME KUDOS UWU DON'T RUN AWAY IM SORRY I SCARED YOU!!!
> 
> 🖤 Also, I always thought Kym and Kiki were related at first, so yeah they're cousins in Modern AU. Cause, duh.
> 
> 🖤 Yeah, I made Evans' first name up because I don’t even care or want to know if he actually does have one that is revealed to us. I think we all know he isn't going to last. 
> 
> 🖤 You guys want some horror, death, and angst? Step right up, who should we yeet off the board after Evans?
> 
> 🖤 Random fact: I just found dumb snake quotes online and kinda merged them into the beginning there, LMAO BUT THEN IM LIKE WAIT THAT'S KINDA SOUNDING COOL? more 4am smooth brain
> 
> 🖤 There are some tags I've added ahead of time, and others I haven't, for reasons. Like fast pass stuff.


	2. Empty Shores

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The game has only just begun. 
> 
> And Lauren will never be prepared for Kym or Kieran's death predictions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really sorry for any errors, I won't be thoroughly editing this because I tear apart my stuff and then you guys will never see it, and I'm having so much fun writing this, so let's just skip the pleasantries and get to...
> 
> **DRUM ROLL PLS**
> 
> BADADADADADDUDMDUDMDUMDUDMDUUDMMM
> 
> DEATH PREDICTIONS! **cue children cheering**
> 
> KIERAN'S DEATH PREDICTION MWAHAHA **cue kieran simps booing**

**Empty Shores**

Laying there upon the cold floor of the church, Lauren’s blocked out any external sounds, minus the voices of the others chanting along with Bella, and the lightness in Lauren’s head soon overpowers the panic and the fear that sank deep within her gut.

“Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Light as a feather, stiff as a board. She is dying, she is dying. She is dead.” 

And before she realized it, her body was slamming to the ground, the puncture of a weight pulling through her chest and out into the hands of Bella, who pulled away, a dazed glow in her eyes but it flickered away in an instant, her smile light upon her laugh. No one else noticed, and Lauren herself blinked a few times, her second guessing already breaking through the surface. 

“Did you just float or am I wasted?” Evans snorted, rolling onto the ground in a heap of laughter. The others didn’t say a word, Bella laughing at him, rather than with him. “Okay strong man, you did all the heavy lifting yourself apparently.”

Kym grabs for one of Evan’s bottles, popping it open and chugging it. She seemed prepared and mostly unaffected by the supposedly cheap parlor tricks, but Kieran was pale, and still hadn’t spoken a word to Lauren. Or to anyone for that matter.

The pink bubbly girl perks up at the sight of her friend's sad empty gaze. “Oh dear, Kieran you are looking deathly. It’s just a fun game for children. They’re about to graduate, it’s the perfect time, _their last time."_

Lauren feels Bella’s stare as she continues speaking, “There won't even be a moment to sit around and play games once you start working.” The pink haired woman then waves her hand, making Evans get up to grab Kieran some water. The rich punk flicks her off, slamming his empty beer bottle upon the podium behind them on the way. He curses to the statue nearby, flipping open the cooler and grabbing a water.

Bella’s eyes have settled to Kym, who looks so much smaller than everyone else present. Lauren’s bones still rattle, and her skin is cold to the touch. She can feel the subtle warmth coming from Kieran, but doesn’t move from her position next to him and her eyes stay still, pinned to the spot she was sure she floated from moments ago. Lauren snapped out of her trance when Kym laid down, Bella’s fingers swirling over her temples and brushing away the short locks of midnight blue. 

“Ladell, if I recall? I knew your sister. Daena.” It’s the first time Bella starts out with conversation. Kym grins at the mention. “Really? She was a bit older than you, I suppose.” 

“Yes, she was very kind.” Bella smiles. Her fingers have been rubbing at Kym’s temple for a moment, the two of them speaking more on Daena. When they’ve stopped, Bella hums in thought, brows furrowing.

“Hmm, this just isn’t working for some reason. I’m not getting anything. Looks like you’re immortal, Kym Ladell.” Sarcasm drips from Bella's words but her sincerity seems odd. Lauren looks toward her best friend who is pouting, eyes still closed.

“What? Oh, come on! Make something up!”

Bella tightens her brow, the inside of her jaw flexing in frustration. “No,” a glimpse of panic in her tone is heard as she backs up, pushing away and looking at Kieran. The spook in her eyes is familiar between the lot of them, but they don’t dare speak what they saw as she returns her composure and clears her throat.

She points to Kieran. “You next.” Bella then turns to Kym, apologizing, “ **Sorry, I think I just feel bad if I scared Daena’s little sister.”**

The lie is tucked away for later, suspicion riding high and the unsettling feeling upon Lauren’s shoulder growing by the second. The loud slam of the door to the entrance has them all startled. Kym shot up, quickly hiding behind the podium and leaving the rest to fend for themselves.

Evans laughs first, then Bella who continues the trend. “It was just the wind, losers," Evan shouts, rolling his eyes and returning to his annoyingly loud snacking. His obnoxious devouring of the potato chips fuels the irritation boiling in the church. 

With a heavy sigh, Kym stepped out of hiding, heading back over to them and sitting down on the blanket. Kieran only chuckled lightly, brushing away a lock of loose hair and settling down onto the middle of the blanket. Lauren wasn’t ready for what was next, despite her not liking his company currently, she didn’t want to play anymore of this creepy game. And she certainly didn’t want to know how he died.

Bella went on humming, his head in her lap, unlike the others, which struck her as odd, but then again, they were together when she came in. _So the rumors are true, he is hanging out with trouble._ Lauren’s eyes glide back to Bella, who’s rubbing at Kieran’s temples. The prolonged treatment of his foretelling is slowly starting to feel like she’s witnessing an intimate head massage. Bella gasps suddenly, jolting everyone but Kieran who just laughs. Evans growled, spewing a mumble of curses. Lauren’s paranoia was at its highest and she hated anything remotely creepy like this. But it was for the information, she reassured herself.

 _For Dylan. I can handle a few scary games and ghost stories._ Next time she wouldn’t bring alcohol. 

With Kieran not looking, Lauren looked down at the cold water bottle that sat between them. His spot was open but no one was looking. She spun the cap, taking a swig. Her lips touched the opening out of quickness, sending her into a panic as she quickly placed the bottle down, acting as if nothing happened. 

_Oh my god, indirect kiss. Nope, I definitely did not do that just now!_

Her foolish panic was childish, an indirect kiss on a bottle, what blasphemy. But she tasted the leftover cinnamon from something sweet she knew he had on the way to the church. _Some things never change._

Kym curses them to the wind, pouting and sipping on her beer. “I thought you didn’t want to scare me! Come on! Let’s see how my cousin gets smashed to the dirt.” 

Bella chuckles, followed by a hollow and deep laughter. Playful in all honesty. “Oh, he won’t be near dirt. Not for Kieran White, a boy who lost his parents at such a young age, only to lead the typical life as a degenerate piece of trash.”

Kieran laughed again, Evans snickering at the roast. “She’s not wrong,” Kieran admits. Kym giggles, sipping on her beer. “Nonsense, he’s an amazing artist. Just because he did homeschooling and decided to make a living off his art commissions doesn’t mean he’s a degenerate. Okay, there are a few things however---the blades for instance, I’m--”

“How is that any different from your obsession with guns! Worse actually!”

“I don’t just go shooting my guns everywhere! You have blades on you right now, I know you do!”

**“What? Nonsense. Clearly, I wouldn’t.”**

Bella seethed, the fire in her eyes glowing and a growl like a cat emanating from her. They all went silent and she smiled quickly, chuckling at their expressions and snapping with sarcasm. “Will you both shut up so I can kill him already?” 

They stayed quiet, Bella hand’s going back to his temples. “Kieran White, foolishly telling himself he has it all figured out. But he knows nothing of the path that lies ahead, even with the attempt at being better, you only fail, and become everything you feared ever becoming. Everything you never wanted to be. A mons-”

Lauren sneezed, eyes wide and everyone's expression, including Kieran’s shooting up at her. “Sorry. Go on,” she says quietly.

Bella glared, pinning her stare back to Kieran and speaking. “But it all changes when he’s pitted to the bottom of the sea with nowhere to go and a breath away from death itself. Always chained to something. Kieran White would die, shackled to his sins beneath the depths of the dark haunting waters. Choking. Gasping. Begging. Water fills his lungs and his heart accelerates, all he can focus on...all he could hear was the rapid beating in his ears. His eyes, which are wide and stinging from the water puncturing his vision slowly bring him to the darkness that will devour him. And yet, despite all odds, he fought with the hands that created his very living. That kept him going. That captured life. And it would fail, just as everything else in his pitiful life. And it would be his end."

Stopping for a moment, Bella eyes open. Eyes that open and only gaze at Kieran. At him. _Through him._ "He is beginning to look ill. Pale, and the hope forever lost within the eyes of the bright blue sea. He is scared, choking and falling to the darkness that awaits him. He is dying. He is dying. He is dead.”

They can’t speak, because somehow, this one felt too personal to be a game. Bella speaks, her voice soothing, and the jingle of her earrings sending them into a quiet trance. “Light as a feather, stiff as a board.”

Kieran’s weight is lifted by their fingers. Her arms feel weightless as she lifts him. The distant sound of the clock tower chimes, but Bella continues. “Light as a feather, stiff as a board.” The others followed, and Lauren reluctantly played along. 

“He is dying. He is dying. He is dead.” Kieran falls with a thump and he groans, rubbing the back of his head that landed on Bella’s leg. He’s back to being silent, not saying a word as he returns to his spot to grab for his water. His hand missed the bottle, looking down suspiciously. 

“I think a ghost moved my water bottle.”

Kym smirked at Lauren, Bella not saying a word if she did know. Evans bit his lip in worry, looking around to see if anything else had been moved. “Oh god, what if the ghosts steal the beer?"

“Can someone shut this dog up?” Bella snapped, rolling her eyes and yawning, “Well, that was anticlimactic. I was expecting more.” Lauren paled, wanting to get her information and leave, but it was starting to look like her night was going to be dragged out. 

“How about you two.” Kym points to the two men. “Leave, so us three.” She draws a triangle between the two girls and herself. “Can have some girl talk.” 

Kieran doesn’t budge laying back on the blanket and looking up at the sky through the broken pieces of the ceiling. Evans chucks his empty beer bottle behind him, the shatter of glass scaring away any lurking creatures. Kym growled, a feral aura having them look her way. She turned to Evans, grabbing for his collar and tugging him forward with all her might. Her shouts echo off the walls. 

“Will you STOP doing that!? WHY ARE YOU LITTERING!? AND NOW BREAKING GLASS!? CHILDREN HANG OUT AROUND HERE!" Kym slammed him against the podium, shoulders heaving in anger. "OH, BUT PERHAPS YOU DIDN’T NOTICE THE HOMELESS KIDS YOU MIGHT HAVE PASSED BY. THE LESS FORTUNATE THAN YOU, YOU POMPOUS PIG STENCH. YOU KNOW WHAT, I’M ABOUT TO END YOU HERE RIGHT NOW, AND THAT LITTLE GAME IS GOING TO BECOME REAL, CAUSE I SWEAR TO GOD MASON EVANS I WILL THROW YOU OVER A GODDAMN CLIFF MYSELF IF YOU EVER LITTER AGAIN!" 

Kym’s voice echoed over the damp cool walls of the church, the patter of rain from outside beginning to stir. The holes in the ceiling didn’t do them any favors, the water sprinkling in from the top and dousing the lit candles. Or what was left of them, Lauren noticed. A few already blown out or tipped over, most likely from the wind or Evans causing a scene. She suppresses the cold shiver and rests her eyes to the silent form resting on the ground.

Kieran stayed there despite the water droplets falling upon his shirt and sliding over his glowing tan skin. 

"Well, that's it folks. I'm going home." Bella stood up, kicking Kieran to get him to move. Lauren let her clean up, the others grabbing their stuff. Kym made Evans stay to clean up, forcing him down all fours as he cleaned up the glass. 

Lauren grabbed for Bella's arm, pulling back at the flash of a haunting image slicing through her mind. The howl of something in her ear passed by, startling her. "Hey, what about the information?" 

"I'll get you your information. This weekend? Promise."

"Fine. Meet me at the Café on the corner in the 11th precinct on Sunday for lunch, 11 AM."

"Good then. You can come by my place too and we can hang out." Bella smirked, eyeing Kieran for a moment who watched them. Bella raised her chin, winking at Lauren and heading off. Lauren shouted out to Kym, who waved out in anger. 

"You two go on without me!" Kym slammed the man's head down into the dirty concrete of the building, his drunken whine and sloppy retorts hardly comprehensible. 

Lauren would be surprised if he remembered anything at all come tomorrow. She followed Kieran out of the church, leaving behind the shouts of Kym screaming out, "Keep cleaning, idiot! We're not leaving until you find every piece of glass, so help me god."

* * *

The rain lightened up the further they walked through the suburbs of the 6th Precinct. They'd been silent for a short while, and Lauren knew she was the more stubborn one between the two. 

“That was stupid,” Kieran snapped, hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched. He stayed behind her while her thin long legs propelled her faster ahead of him. 

“What?” Lauren snaps back and whips around, ready to stand her ground for whatever judgement was coming her way. 

His shoes skid on the wet pavement. “What are you trying to do?”

Their eyes don’t meet for long, a stalemate and neither of the two ready to admit they were wrong. Wrong about so many things, but stubbornness was never an easy trial. Lauren snaps back, “It's none of your concern. You made that abundantly clear once before.”

She starts up her walk again, not even able to look his way. His shout echoes out into the street, the silence absorbed by the drips of rain that fall gently to the sleeves of her jacket. 

"You already know the truth!"

The silence cuts harsher than the wind. But his words stab deep and twist slow. "There's no reason to keep wasting your time on this. Dylan is dead. He died in that fire that day."

She wants to scream, just like before. She wants to blame him. The guilt is back but the pride outweighs that heavy price, and she can't even apologize. So instead, she would rather dig deeper and make the wound bleed further. "Maybe he did. But with no body found, and the few things I have heard. I know there's something else. But you wouldn't know, would you, Kieran?" Lauren finally meets his eyes and he knows what's coming. Now she can’t seem to look away from the distant fade in his bright baby blues. "You wouldn't know. Because you left him there. To burn. You ran. And even after...even after everything, you ran from it all, you left us behind."

The look in his eye is unfamiliar, it terrifies her. Because something in him is no longer there, the spark from before Dylan’s death. It's gone and she's just now realizing that. 

"I'm sorry," he whispers. But she feels it really isn't for her, but something else, as his eyes glaze as if they were to flood with tears. But they are dry and they stare into the darkness, through her, beyond her.

Her foot steps forward, one after another until she’s in front of him. "You have no right to say that, not now. Not after all this time. You gave up before you even started! But I won't stop. And if Bella knows something--”

“Bella is dangerous. Stay away from her. It was foolish of you to even come here. And so was playing her stupid games. I should have known," Kieran scoffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking around her. Their shoulders bumped, and the memory of the faded color of blue in his eyes imprints into her vision. Lauren stomps ahead, crossing her arms. They’re back to the silence. The gentle steps of Kieran’s shoes are opposite of her rhythm, and it drives her mad that he’s still even there. Peering over her shoulder, she barks, “Stop following me.”

“My house is this way. Oh, but you wouldn't know that. Considering you chose to walk out of that hospital room and never look back. Always saying I was the one that left you behind, but you knew exactly what you were doing when you turned your back on me and walked through that doorway.”

Lauren stops, and he too halts beside her. The guilt bubbles to the surface, her excuses abundant and her reasonings even more so. _You gave up on Dylan. I left that hospital because you didn’t want to help me find the truth. You wouldn’t even talk to anyone, including me._

“I was a child,” she says quietly. So quietly that the rain almost captures it whole. 

“Yeah, I was too. And all I ever had was you and Dylan, and when you walked away, I had nothing,” his sorrows caused the chill along her arms, the chilly early summer rain nothing in comparison to the icy cold stare she’s absorbed in. Lauren retorts with the worst response she tells herself, but says so anyway, “You apparently have a cousin who is my best friend.”

Kieran scoffs, looking elsewhere from her for a moment, speaking only to the wind, “And a family I would never burden. They took me in for a little while but I made my own way not soon after. Some of us have to in order to survive."

“If you're guilt tripping me for being born into a rich family, it's failing. It never bothered you before."

“No,” the terrifyingly painful anger in Kieran’s voice has her stepping back and away from him. His eyes shoot back to her, and like the rest of him they don’t move an inch. He doesn’t budge or follow. But his mouth moves and his words sting. “The only thing that truly bothered me most was how easily you discarded me. Like I was trash to you. You're no different from the rest of them. And you're certainly no better than that Evans guy you came with."

Lauren snaps, unable to think the longer he continues to spew his opinions, "I am NOTHING like him!”

Those same piercing blues burn into her heart and he looks so much older, so much wiser, and one who suffered so much greater than the boy she once knew. His tone rattled hers, "Keep telling yourself how much better you are, Sinclair. Eventually, you'll be too blinded to ever see the right way." He didn't let her respond, turning a right and leaving her at the fork in the road. 

Fists form, teeth grind. Lauren stands her ground and watches him go. _Don’t be the one to tell me that. Don’t tell me I’ve been doing this only for it to be all for naught._

Lauren took the left road, heading home instead of chasing after someone who clearly was as fed up with her, as she was with him.

* * *

It was Friday. Kym's favorite day. Besides Saturday. 

"How wasted were we last night?" Kym laughed at the faded memories, chomping on her watermelon she packed. Lauren grabbed a slice herself, biting into it and admitting, "More than wasted or not wasted enough. Either way, I was seeing things.”

"Yeah, that Bella chick must know magic tricks, I was sure you were floating."

Lauren grabbed for her drink, sipping the delicious lemonade with delight. "Well, I guess the name holds power. It's just a trick of the eye. Illusion, to make you think you're actually weightless."

Kym nodded, completely passing the whole thing off and finishing her food. She slurped down the rest of her soda and slammed it on the table. "I was out so late because of that idiot, Evans. How does that guy even pass his classes? He's dumber than my cousin's rock collection."

Lauren paused, straw plopping out of her mouth and her lips parting, "What?" she asks in interest.

"Eh...another time,” Kym laughed nervously, eyes averting to someone behind Lauren. The small woman bolted up, eyes wide at the tall sculpted form walking their way. None other than her high school crush, William Hawkes _aka Student Council President aka Valedictorian aka Lead Lacrosse Player aka The Sweetest Guy™️_ _aka The Golden Prince aka Hottest Single Man her age in Ardhalis High School_.

"Kym, you're talking out loud again," Lauren said quietly. Tugging on the girl to sit. Kym rubbed her eyes, falling out of the trance and sucking in a deep breath, then exhaling loudly the closer Will came to them.

"Bella said I was immortal. But I have this feeling my cause of death is a heart attack, caused by Will himself."

"Calm down, just because you accidently kissed him at that party last week doesn't mean you guys suddenly can't be friends."

Kym's eyes begin to tear up, Will coming in hot. "Lauren. You don't understand. These emotions were meant to stay buried deep in the crevices of the dusted shelves of my heart for all eternity. And yet. I had one slip up. One mistake. I foolishly kissed him on the lips, as if it were nothing. All this time, I imagined it to be something glorious---something to be told in the years to come."

Kym stops. Will waving with a beaming beautiful smile that has the majority of the cafeteria in range swooning and passing out in their chairs. 

"Hey, you two! I haven't seen or spoken with either of you all week,” he waves, running by a litter of comatose Will Simps. **(lol I couldn't leave you guys out of the story)**

"Not our fault you're always busy," Lauren replied, clipped with sass and a smile to match.

Kym opened her mouth to speak. But it slammed shut, her brain emptying out into the air and all her thoughts obliterating from her mind. 

"Uhh…" Will chuckled, a light hearted laugh following.

Lauren took that as her cue, standing up abruptly and speeding away from them. She shouted out as she ran off, waving them goodbye. "Uh, oh no! Gotta finish my History homework before Hermann kills me, seeya later!"

Lauren didn't make it far, rough hands grabbing her and slamming her into the wall. Evans looked feral, sweat beading down his face. 

She twisted from his grip, flattening her back to the wall. "Gross, get off me!" 

He slicked his hair blonde locks back, "I just got out of football practice. Now listen, _Sinclair._ ” He stepped forward, trapping her there, and she cringed. “I only agreed to play that game because of that pink-haired bitch. I did that stupid shit because of our deal. A deal you have not upheld."

"A deal you didn't uphold, you mean. You're the middleman, essentially useless to us now." She tried to maneuver her way off the wall, but he followed her movement and effectively kept her trapped there.

"You. Made a deal. With me. Therefore, you will finish the deal." He poked at her chest and she swatted away his grubby finger. "I want my information first."

"Let it be known, I will take what is mine once you have what is yours then," he threatened, pulling away from her. Lauren roughly pushed him out of the way, "Fuck off, Evans."

He shouted out from behind her as she sauntered off down the hallway, "Hey! Do you remember my turn during the game? Things are still a bit fuzzy for me."

" **I don't remember much of anything.** Maybe you shouldn't get so wasted next time! Goodbye, Evans." That was the last of him that she ever hoped to see. Once school was out she may never have to see him again, but when had she ever been that lucky?

* * *

Finishing up the rest of her history homework and not falling asleep through math, she headed to her locker as the bell rang and class ended. She hadn’t seen Kym or Will around since their little meeting in the cafeteria. It got her wondering if they were ever going to just date before it was too late. 

Shuffling her papers into her locker, Lauren grabbed her history book and headed to Hermann’s dreadful class. Kym was there when she arrived, a tiny smile present on the girl’s face. Lauren skipped over, ready to hear the good news that her best friends were finally dating.

“So, please tell me I didn’t walk off for nothing only to get harassed by Evans.”

“Evans hurt you!? Where is he, I will fuck him up.” Kym stood suddenly, that soft smile gone. Lauren sat down, her hand pushing her best friend into the seat beside her. “Calm down, it has been handled. He’s just annoyed because I didn’t give him anything.” 

Kym avoided Hermann's scrutinizing gaze, punching Lauren's arm lightly. “See, you can't trust him. What did I tell you? I knew he would be persistent.” Lauren was too busy rolling her eyes to the back of her head. Kym's paranoia about certain individuals was something she still had to get used to. Kym called it her _sixth sense,_ but Lauren assumed it was just Kym's _keen eye_ for shitty people. “Well, there isn’t any need for him now. So, I’ll just ignore him or pay him money if he grates my nerves long enough.”

“Eventually, money won’t solve all your problems, you know.”

Lauren whispers back with a rebuttal, trying her best to keep quiet as Hermann turned the lights off and flicked on the projector. "With men like him it will." 

“Touché," whispers Kym.

Hermann groans at the incompetence of the class who are still chatting away or texting. Hermann clears his throat, speaking out with a loud demand, "Before we begin, pass your homework to the front."

Lauren reaches for hers and stalls. Eyes widening and her heart dropping to the pit of her stomach. The anxiety boils and the panic sets in.

_Where the fuck is my homework folder!?_

Lauren stands, and like clockwork, she slowly walks to the front, catching her teacher’s eye. Hermann didn’t even need a peep from her to know, rolling his eyes and nodding toward the door. Lauren zoomed out to her locker, checking inside and coming up with nothing. She sprints, casually slowing down when passing the classrooms with open doors and heading to her previous class. When she got there, class was in session and the door was closed. With the best attempt, she peeked through the top window of the door, ambers of desperation focusing in on the room in a frenzy. _Nothing._

_Where is it!? Hermann is going to murder me._

She walked back in defeat, nodding without a word as she fell back to her desk. The rest of the class went smoothly but she sulked through the entire thing. There was never a time Lauren Sinclair _didn’t_ turn in her homework, but of course it would happen now as the school days counted down to single digits. Hermann sent her glares every once in a while, calling on her more than often and receiving laughs from some of the students. The bell rang and she shot up, ready to dip out before she could get scolded, but Hermann was too quick, standing by the doorway and purposely handing out flyers for the fundraiser Will set up for next weekend.

“Sinclair.” Hermann pulled a slip from his pocket, already written with her name and the horrible crime she had committed. “After school detention.” 

“Yes, of course.” Lauren’s eyes stayed neutral, but the grip of her hands snatching the paper said otherwise. _He knows I did the homework._

She turns away, and her face may be a pout, but inside she’s boiling like the sun.

_I’ll figure out who stole my precious folder._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO THE FUCK STOLE LAUREN'S PRECIOUS FOLDER!?
> 
> I don't know about you guys but Lauren's moment of Where the fuck is my homework folder!? is like the worst panic inducing feeling LOL
> 
> Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Are you guys ready for some angst and panik?
> 
> **Chapter 3 will be released next Tuesday, March 9th!**


	3. A Hawk's Eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lauren's lost her precious homework folder and now she has to serve after school detention.
> 
> Surely, nothing can go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this fic seems like it's going to be slow, that's probably because it will be. I just go with the flow of the writing and let it take me, and I really enjoy the beginnings of fleshing out characters that will be important going forward! 
> 
> Also, there will be chapters where it is not Lauren's POV. May it be Kieran, or Kym. Etc, it just depends on what works for the situations! Next chapter will be one of those instances. 
> 
> Quite a few people have suspected Evans as the folder thief, 👀 and for you few, there's another big question at the end of this chapter. It really is the Who dun it?! but never forget the Why dun it!

**A Hawk’s Eye**

_**Friday Afternoon** _

“It's important to me Kym,” Lauren sighs, turning to her best friend with a plea in her eyes that reveals the stress eating away at her. _Please, do this for me._

“I know, I’m sorry. I’ll help you find your folder since you have detention duty!” Kym’s saddened expression was only present for a second, before she jumped up high, her dirty combat boots snapping together and her hand throwing up a salute as she landed with ease. “DETECTIVE KYM ON THE CASE! The goon squad is back in action!”

"No." Lauren slumps her shoulders, spinning her lock code and flinging open her locker with some extra brute force. “Not...no. Not the goon squad,” she groans.

“Alright, just us two then! Anyway, time to fly, I’m busy today!” Kym slapped the lockers and winked, turning around and sauntering off. “I’ll text you if I find it!!!” 

Lauren smirks, cheerfully waving her best friend off. “Okay!” _Uh huh. Busy. Busy with Sir William Hawkes._

  
  


* * *

Lauren dreaded the after school detention class. It was purposely placed on the highest floor after school, just to make the students walk up and down three flights of stairs. 

Her mood worsened when she stepped inside to hear the annoying sneer of the one person she did _in fact_ beat the shit out of, in middle school, of course. She couldn’t risk being expelled once high school came around. He still pressed his luck however, and she was more than hoping someone would do the honors of punching him every once in a while, since she was unable to. 

“Well, if it isn’t the princess, herself.” 

“No surprise to see you, Sake.” He lounged on top of his desk, the burn scar upon his face viciously marked along the right side. It was just another reminder of the screams she wished to never remember. Sake chose to keep his head mostly shaved, he not only looked the part of an annoying degenerate mistake but he was born and bred as one. 

His eyes squinted in suspicion at her presence, watching her hips sway while she made her way to the desk next to him. Another foolish rule set in play for after school detentions. A means of accepting your peers and socializing in an appropriate manner. _Or whatever Will said during the Student Council meeting those some years ago when he did implement it._

Lauren glared at Sake the entire way to her desk, snapping back and slamming her books on the desk. _You disgust me, I will step on you cockroach._

The teacher slammed the book he was previously reading down with a loud thud, as if to prove to her he could do better. A familiar tone snapped out, “Sit down! The both of you.”

Lauren was so busy imagining ways to punch Sake's lights out, she didn't even see the man sitting at the front of the class. She wasn’t really expecting this, normally one of the substitute teachers would fill in for an after school detention, but here in front of her was someone even more popular than---

She stopped for a moment thinking. _What was it again?_

 _Oh yeah, more popular than Student Council President aka Valedictorian aka Lead Lacrosse Player aka The Sweetest Guy™ aka The Golden Prince aka Hottest Single Man her age in Ardhalis High School_ , according to Kym. 

In front of her was someone who had an extraordinary list of accomplishments that she didn’t even bother to remember. All she did know was that Rafael Hawkes was _always_ trouble. Will’s older brother. His complete façade was a trained mask for his father. But Rafael had a wild spirit beneath that sturdy shell, and it always got them into mischief when they were younger. 

“What are you doing here?” she asks bitterly.

“That’s not a very nice way to greet a big brother,” he pouts for a second, then glares at her.

Lauren rolled her eyes while Sake mocked them in their peripheral. Rafael chucked his book like a dart, and it went flying, straight as an arrow and right into Tim's forehead. 

“What the fuck!? I could get you fired for that!” Sake’s weak taunt went unheard when Lauren questioned the older Hawkes. “Fired?”

He sighed, “I’m a substitute teacher, temporarily. For music. I had to fill in today.” 

“Right. That makes sense.” Lauren tapped her fingers on the desk impatiently, hoping to the gods he let them out early. Without her special folder, she felt empty. Thankfully, no other homework was in there, but of course it had to be Hermann’s class she screwed up in. 

Her thoughts were intruded when a crumpled piece of paper was thrown her way. It smacked her in the side of the head and went tumbling to the ground. The very thought of trash on the floor had the vein in her temple almost combusting. Lauren heaved a heavy sigh, glaring at Sake who smirked. She wasn’t going to fall for his tricks. 

_As if I’d bend over in a shirt like this and show you anything._ She stripped her hoodie off on the way up the stairs from heat exhaustion. Her simple and thin but loose low cut T-shirt was a perfect target for some shithead like Sake. She smiled, ignoring him and going back to organizing her notebooks. Another paper was thrown her way, crumpled into a ball. It successfully fell in between the cleavage of her shirt. Lauren growled, tightening her fists upon the desk and practically tearing it apart. 

Sake snickered, whispering to her, “Meet me after school, Sinclair. I’ll show you a thing or two--”

There was no reaction to what she did, flipping open her notebook near its end and tearing out a ton of pages. The annoying little white frills went flying and drifted to the ground like snow, scattering all over the floor. Rafael hadn’t bothered looking up. Meanwhile, Lauren started aggressively crumpling them up into paper balls and squashing them with such force they became Sake’s own enemy. She combined their strengths and pitched it right at him, instantly looking down as if she didn’t do a single thing.

Sake cried out in pain, breaking the silence and in response, Rafael inhaled deeply, shouting out, “For the love of all that is holy on this godforsaken cursed land!” With a slam of his palms to the surface of his desk, Rafael stood up with a hunch, his shoulders tightening with tension and his sharp scornful glare rising to them. His tone is more of a snarl as he snaps like the wind, ”The both of you are driving my LAST NERVES into the wall!”

When he fully stands, he straightens his suit and slicks back his dark blonde locks. He only turns his back to them for a moment, grabbing the large binder from atop the cabinet file and slowly turning to eye them with something equivalent to conniving. The two fragile students still sitting in their desks, eyes wide as saucers, flinch as he drops it down onto the old rickety wood of his desk. Rafael hums, sitting down in the plush rolling chair and props his foot up onto the desk that Lauren is pretty sure is about to break any moment. He starts to flip through the pages of requests and things needed to be done around the school, every once in a while glaring up at Sake. 

“Some _community service_ for the both of you, perhaps?” 

Sake spoke first, “No, come on! I literally just did some the other day.”

“How very generous of you, Timberlake.” 

“Don’t fucking call me that.” 

“Timberlake Alex-” 

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Alexander Sake. Timberlake Alexander Sake, has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” Rafael’s low tone fell into a hum while he flipped through the pages. His feet sent him into a spin, his expression full of decisiveness and irritation each time he faced Lauren's way. Rafael stops the tapping on his chin, but a smirk grows when he does find the page he wants, and he purrs with satisfaction when he speaks. 

“Timmy, you’ll be cleaning the men’s gym bathrooms. That includes the lockers and _the showers too._ ”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Sake grunts.

Rafael speaks with feigned ignorance, eyes wide and mouth agape like he’s surprised. “Well, that’s what it says here on the paper. It needs to be done.” He didn’t bother listening to Tim’s response, looking toward Lauren and then to the binder, flipping the laminated pages the other way.

“Lauren…” he draws out slowly, the baritone in his voice making her wince. 

Rafael had a way of catching the attention of a room. He also had his small terrifyingly peculiar smirks every once in a while, and this was one of those moments. However, it only ever lasted a few seconds and she just so happened to be observant enough to catch them more times than not.

Too busy in her thoughts, Lauren couldn’t suppress the surprise when she saw Rafael stand abruptly, the chair spinning into the back wall with a loud thud. He slammed the binder shut and his voice called out, a higher pitch than before as if he were a different person from the one she was just looking at. “Well then! I think some sun would do you good. Go help the gardening club clean up. And before you fight me on this, I know some of the members are not as athletic. So, keep that in mind.” 

Her mouth was open, ready for that retort but she smirked with a huff. “Better than being in this insufferable classroom with the _both of you.”_ Sake’s already grabbing his bags and stomping out. Lauren looks back, Rafael not bothering to look her way as he starts to clean up. 

Her question finally reaches the air. “Why are you really here?”

‘What are you talking about?” he asks genuinely.

Lauren only squints at him in suspicion. “Were you actually here spying on Will all day for your father?”

Rafael cracks a laugh, a loud amusing one, but as it settles, she’s reminded of the gentle laugh that Will always has. Childish because of their soft skin, light colored eyes and messy blonde locks.

“No, Lauren. I have faith in my little brother, unlike my father. However, I can not promise you there isn’t someone else here watching him. But I doubt finding them would be an issue for you. You sure you don’t want to be a detective?” 

“No! For the last time ever, no.” 

“A shame,” Rafael points out blankly, turning away from her. Snagging her bags, she stomps toward the door. 

He stops her for a moment, calling out, "I suggest being quick. There's a storm rolling in."

She doesn’t look back, heading out of the building and into the fields toward the forest edge of the school grounds.

* * *

Lila, the most precious innocent cinnamon roll Lauren's ever met, is there tending to the garden when she makes it to the fields of flowers that bank along the grounds. The girl who normally chooses to wear dresses every chance she gets, instead wears smeared dirty pants and a matching shirt. This otherworldly Lila was covered in dirt and sweat. 

She peeks up, placing a hand to her face to block the sun. “Oh! Lauren! So good to see you, what made you drop by?” 

“Actually...I’m here to help you clean up.”

“Oh..? Why’s that?” 

"Well, actually I was asked to, and there's a storm coming in, you should make your way back soon."

"What? What about you?"

"I'm a lot stronger than you, Lila. I can help you bring in the heavy stuff. Speaking of, where are the rest of the club members?"

"Actually, one member is sick, two others are taking make-up exams, and the three strongest members had to help Mr. Rosenthal with the large trees they want to plant around the school this summer."

"Is it really okay to leave all this stuff out?" Lauren asks in worry.

"Um...truth be told. They aren't able to make it back today, they're caught up north, I imagine they're stuck because of the storm. Though, I checked the radar not too long ago and it seems to have died down a bit. So, I think the plants will be just fine." Lila smiles warmly, as if she was in her own paradise.

"Lila!" A deep and surprising tone came from the field. Tall, dark, and terrifyingly handsome was running their way. _Lukas Randall._ Lila and Lukas were the couple of the school, if Lauren had to be blunt. 

Prom King and Queen to be exact, next weekend. And rightfully so. Lila shot up with glee, dusting her pants off and ripping off her gardening gloves. Her locks bounce as she runs to her man. They were everything Lauren never knew and probably never would know. To experience such a thing as love. 

_To be in love with someone._

Tipping her chin, Lukas leaned down as Lila pushed up on her tiptoes to lean into a sweet tender kiss. Lukas's hand wrapped around her slim waist, pulling her in against him like a perfect puzzle piece. They looked like a married couple. Standing there in the field of grass with the sun greeting them before hiding behind the clouds rapidly accumulating in the sky. 

Lila's dirty outfit matched with curly blonde locks and round glasses perched up on her cute button nose make her look all the more housewife, as if she were greeting her man dressed in slacks and a loose button up like that should always be the fashion. They were truly a couple born to be in the early 1900s.

Lauren chuckled, turning away and clearing her throat.

Lukas grunted, pulling away and slipping his large fingers toward Lila's and practically engulfing the poor girl's hand. 

_Kym couldn't be more right. They are so adorable._

Lukas was a lot taller than Lila. He's a brilliant basketball player, and an even better drum player, but above all, his secretive deadly looks makes him into somewhat of an icon online, even making his own brand of clothing and hiring the most unique, dark and terrifyingly beautiful models.

Their relationship flourished when Lila became the fashion designer, incorporating her own theme and because of this, they merged into a new brand creating something that merged the dark and the fluffy. 

" **Sorry, Sinclair. Didn't see you there,"** says Lukas, who's smirking with a shit eating grin. 

Looking back, Lila smiled, the tint of pink still present on her cheeks. She looks guilty but Lauren banishes the thought. "Go on ahead, Lila! I'll take care of the rest here."

"Thank you, Lauren. Make sure to head back before the rain," she says sternly, picking up her bags and sliding her hand back into Lukas's.

"Let's go, sweet pea," Lukas whispered, Lila giggling as he nuzzled her hair. They walk hand in hand out into the open fields of green grass, all the while Lukas kissing the girl's hand and bringing her in close.

Pulling away her envious gaze, Lauren pulls on the gloves and claps her hands. "Time to get to work!"

  
  


**30 Minutes Later**

She was about fed up with the rest of the chores, like heaving loads of manure bags into a stack beneath the canopy that was set up near the garden. She couldn't imagine Lila doing any of this on her own, the poor girl would have broken her back. 

Regardless, she made sure to thoroughly curse Hermann for being a dickhead and the bad luck of whatever happened to her favorite silver sparkling homework folder. It was _her folder._ The one and only that held all her completed assignments that got her to where she was. _My lucky folder. Gone forever, probably._

With a tug, she released her hands from the filthy gloves to wipe the sweat from her brow. The late afternoon sun was a warm welcome to the dreary rain they've had for the past few days, but the storm clouds in the distance still hadn't escaped her eye. 

There were only a few more plants that needed to be taken to the shed, but a lot more work to be done elsewhere in the garden. Lauren peeked around her shoulder, loads of flower pots waiting to be carried to their safety. The fluttering of the helpless tiny flowers made them look happy, dancing with joy in the wind that picked up and carried the scent of rain.

Lauren kneeled, gently feeling some of the petals. Lila chose an assortment to make into bouquets for graduation. 

The amount of time and effort to grow them all for the entire class was truly something only Lila could do. Lauren remembers sometimes seeing Lila, alone and singing to them. As if it were always meant to be that way. 

_She reminds me of you, Mother._

Smiling to herself softly she hauled the first two pots into her arms, carrying them carefully to the shed. 

The loud caw of a crow had her twirling around and looking up into the trees, her shoes spinning on mud and her feet stumbling to gain her bearings. She almost fell backwards, but with enough strength, prevented the disaster that would have unfolded. Lauren sighed, holding the pots closer to her chest. Only a little dirt escaped them, but it was fine. 

"Damn bird," she muttered. Avoiding any mud on the way, she made it to the shed quickly, hauling the lovely pots to their new home and placing them gently to the ground. Dusting her hands, she smiled. 

_Only a few more trips._

The slam of the shed doors had her almost collapsing on the spot out of pure surprise. The loud howl of the wind followed the spook, rattling against the walls of the enclosure and causing a shiver to creep up her spine. 

"Damn storm," Lauren grumbled. She took in her bearings, rubbing her arms. Her hoodie was great for spring, but not for the wet cold weather at night. Another howl of the wind made her bite her lip. _I need to get those plants._

She booked it to the door, the only light source being the light bulb above and the tiny rectangular window to her right, tucked away high in the corner behind the shelves. She turned the doorknob but it was locked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

_What the hell is this? What is going on? Did the lock latch get pushed down?_

Her fist slammed to the wood, pounding away in irritation. 

She shouts to the howling wind, "HELLO? This isn't funny, open the door!"

She tried again, her hands falling to the doorknobs, but it was sealed shut and locked. Lauren backed away, sprinting into a run. Her shoulder met the door, the pain radiating through her arm and into her skull. With a curse she stepped back again. 

She paced the shed, gnawing at her fingernails. Lauren knew something was either holding it shut or something could have fallen in the way, it wasn't possible for anyone to lock it when there was no mechanism for it. _A door knob doesn't just get stuck_. 

Lauren sighed, the irritation coming back and her day wasted once more. She chuckled thinking about how Kym would react when she dialed for her to come get her. Reaching for her pocket, she froze, the emptiness of the hole filling her heart until she felt hollow. 

_My phone. Where is my phone!?_

Lauren groaned, the stupid crow coming to mind. 

_It must have fallen out of my pocket. Of course it would. Of course!_

Pounding at the door, she yelled out with urgency, "HELLO!? HELP!" 

Her palms met the door, and then she screamed in anger, pulling back her arm once more and punching away at the door. The rhythmic pounding of knuckles to wood grew dull the longer she tried to budge the door. She stopped, hands shaking and knuckles bloodied and bruised.

Lauren attempted to calm down once she rationalized her situation. She was calm for the first twenty minutes. But when an hour turned into two, the howls of the wind grew louder, and the quiet patter of wet droplets came to fruition to greet the night. 

That's when she started to sob, the very thought of the little flowers drowning in the onslaught. Such a simple thing shattered her more than the thought of being stuck in a stupid shed. Shooting up off her feet in anger, she ran to the door. 

Fists meet the wood as she pounds her frustration into the door. But her energy runs low from doing it one too many times before, and she wails, "PLEASE!!! HELP ME! SOMEBODY! PLEASE I'M STUCK IN HERE! SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HERE!! 

She was sure it was another ten minutes or so of constant screaming before her voice gave out and the sharp dry pain attacked her throat. 

Lauren whimpers, "Get me…out..." she broke down as the rain drenched the land and scattered along the roof of the shed. The sound was deafening and the feeling of her hope went sinking like the soil upon the Earth. Lauren curled up against one of the walls, her arms bringing her legs in as she rested her chin on her knees.

_Dark and alone,_

_Lauren Sinclair would live the rest of her days trapped and confined in a space that would make her go mad._

_How she got herself into that situation, was something she'd never come to know._

_Her cries no longer heard._

_Her wails and her screams a distant memory to the wind._

_And when no one would come,_

_the_ _pain in her insides would twist and turn away at the last of her energy._

_It would drive her to desperation,_

_to hopelessness_

_and ultimately,_

_starvation._

The stupid game, and the stupid memory came to mind the longer she sat in the darkness. _Utterly ridiculous, I’ve gone mad if I seriously think that jargon is true. Foolish cheap magic tricks._ _I, Lauren Sinclair, dying in a dumb shed._ She chalked it up to a coincidence, rubbing at her arms for a little bit of warmth within the cold room filled with dusty shelves and damp ceilings. 

Through broken tears and shattered vision, she sees the little flowers huddled in the corner. The thought of all the others she failed to take to safety, instead, left to fend for themselves and beaten down by the unrelenting rains of the season.

The rain only lets up as the moon rises higher and peeks out to greet her with just a little light. The bulb above provides little to nothing for her vision and the damp cold air provides worse for her conditions. 

Without her phone, she can only assume it's nearing midnight. The regret of no longer wearing a watch weighing on her. There was still enough confidence in her that someone would come looking before things got bad, however, she also knows the likelihood of someone looking for her this weekend is slim. School will be closed, and none of the club members are likely to be back until Monday. 

Her Uncle Tristan had a business trip with her Godfather Dakan, who was also the King’s right hand. It would be their only week together before Dakan would return to the King's Castle for the entirety of the summer. Kym, she was for certain, would be _very_ busy with a _certain_ piano player who happened to book them tickets ahead of time to his brother's very own concert. She didn't dare tell her best friend that part after getting the text earlier today from Will.

_At least they are trying._

That left no one on her list of _'Who gives a shit about Lauren Sinclair.'_ Top student who had more enemies than a despicable bully, and only two **, BUT** the very best of friends and an abundance of teachers who disliked her over the fact that her Uncle probably arrested one of their family members. 

The only other person hunting her down would be Evans, but she’s one hundred percent sure his brain isn't wrinkled enough to get this far in the detective work when it comes to her whereabouts. 

Lauren stares down at her dirtied fingers, counting out how many people would actually be likely to find her. 

_Rafael, Sake, Lila and Lukas. That one weird couple trying to get it on in this very shed._

And the odds of any of those four coming back to school, especially in a storm, was slim.

Accepting her fate that she would be stuck there until morning, she turned with a sigh of defeat. Lauren sat down next to the flower pots, relieved to know she was at least able to save some of the flowers. They were comforting and maybe the only thing that was going to hold her together through the night. 

When the rain settles into a calming rhythm, Lauren relaxes and her fingers gently brush along the soft petals of the flowers. In return for their company, she provides a weak smile made only for them. She speaks to the flowers and admits dryly,

"My favorites have always been daisies, but I suppose purple hyacinths aren't so bad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🙈 
> 
> girl pls
> 
> Thanks to [Mery](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zvesemery) for letting me use the name she created for Tim Sake. We love you Timberlake.
> 
> **I will do my best to try and get chapter 4 finished and out to you guys next Tuesday, March 16th. However, I really do want to do Kywi Week and will be busy writing for that!**


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